Page 86 of Not Safe For Work

Chapter 21

After a shower together—I didn’t trust his legs to hold him up quite yet—we got into bed. Rick downed a bottle of water, and then we both dozed for a little while. This was the kind of exhaustion I didn’t mind. The bone-deep heaviness from work was a bitch, but postcoital fatigue? Joints still aching from every motion? Yeah, I could cope with that.

Beside me, Rick stirred. He rubbed his eyes, and my heart fluttered at the faint welts on his forearm. There’d be more on his legs, and those would probably be visible tomorrow. The ones on his wrist would be beneath his shirt sleeves, but if the cuffs pulled up, and if the light were just right…

My God.

Rick Pierce. At the office. Wearing welts from ropes I’d put on him. And he’d probably still be feeling everything the machine and I had done tonight.

Why yes, I could get used to this arrangement again, and I was so, so relieved that we had time for each other now.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“So good. Especially now.”

“Now? Compared to…?”

“Earlier was hot as hell, but this…” He looked up at me, and his voice slurred as he spoke. “It’s been ages since I’ve had a Dom, and I think I missed this part more than anything.”

“Afterward, you mean?”

“Mmhmm.” He rubbed his eyes again, and when he met mine, his were a bit clearer. “Sleeping alone for a long time kind of makes you appreciate just being in bed with someone.”

I nodded. “It really does. I’ve been looking forward to all of this—fucking in the dungeon, and…this.”

His eyelids slid down, and he slowly ran his tongue across his lips. “Well worth the wait, that’s for sure.”

“Definitely.” I paused. “I was afraid you’d lose interest in me.”

“Lose interest?” His eyes flew open. “What are you talking about? It’s taken me this long just to find someone who tops me like you do.” He ran his hand down my arm. “I’m not going to piss that away just because you’ve got work obligations.”

“Still, it’s kind of hard to maintain something like this if we never see each other. Outside of work, I mean.”

“Maybe.” He smiled. “But considering the things you do when we’re together, you’ll have to work a little harder than that to get rid of me.”

I chuckled and kissed his forehead. “Good to know. Because I’d really like to keep you around.”

He flashed a toothy grin. “Chained in your basement?”

“Do you want to be chained in my basement?”

“As often as possible.” He rested his hand on my shoulder. “In all seriousness, I keep thinking we should do other things. Go out. Watch movies. Something.” He lifted his head and kissed me. “But every time we’re alone…”

“Me too. Especially since we haven’t been alone much, but that’s going to change.” I kissed him this time, and gently pressed him back down to the pillow. “I suppose going out is sort of limited. It’d be just our luck we’d run into one of my bosses or something.”

He grimaced. “Yeah. There’s that. Damn it.”

“If we do decide to take this out of our respective houses, I have to say, you would be a hell of a lot of fun at a play party.”

His eyes widened. “You…really want to do that?”

“It could be fun. There’s a dungeon in town that has parties every weekend. If you’re not busy tomorrow night, we could…”

Rick quirked his lips. “I don’t know. I’ve never been to something like that. My ex always made it sound like subs pretty much got passed around like an hors d’oeuvre tray.”

I shook my head. “Not always.” I held him closer to me. “Only if their Dom allows it.”

“If…” He chewed the inside of his cheek for a moment. “If we went to something like that, what if I only wanted to play with you? No one else?”